Mass Murder and Identity Politics

Victor Davis Hanson
. . . "One can argue statistically that the number of Islamist attackers is small compared with the pool of Muslim immigrants. It is, of course, also true that mass shooters come in all races and religions, from the cases of Columbine and Sandy Hook to those at the Oregon community college, Virginia Tech, and Miami. 

"But no other common tie — no particular religion, no political identification, no singular subset of mental illness — binds so many mass shooters as do professions of Islamist radicalism, both among first-generation arrivals and among their offspring." . . .

"The new arrival from the Middle East need not turn on Al Jazeera to be spoon-fed grievances, when he can listen to President Obama’s apology tours or Cairo speech or breakfast sermons about high-horse Christians and their millennium-old Crusades."

. . . "Appeasement is a psychological disorder that affects both the appeaser and the appeased. The more exemptions are granted the offender, the more the grantor feels good about himself, and the more the offender loses respect for someone seen as weak rather than magnanimous."

Trump’s Muslim Immigration Ban Should Touch Off a Badly Needed Discussion

Andrew C. McCarthy "Donald Trump’s rhetorical excesses aside, he has a way of pushing us into important debates, particularly on immigration. He has done it again with his bracing proposal to force “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” 

"I have no idea what Mr. Trump knows about either immigration law or Islam. But it should be obvious to any objective person that Muslim immigration to the West is a vexing challenge.
. . . 
The assumption that is central to this dilemma — the one that Trump has stumbled on and that "Washington refuses to examine — is that Islam is merely a religion. If that’s true, then it is likely that religious liberty will trump constitutional and national-security concerns. How, after all, can a mere religion be a threat to a constitutional system dedicated to religious liberty? 

"But Islam is no mere religion."

Mark Steyn: If You See Something...

 "Because political correctness requires that we regard as just another part of the vibrant tapestry of diversity people who believe in everything ISIS believes in (sharia, female subservience, clitoridectomies, death for homosexuals) but stop short of chopping your head off. So we cannot stop them before they open fire."

hopenchangecartoons.allah-allah-in-free

Steyn Online  "...shut up, racist.

"That's Kate McMillan's headline summation of the Big Security State in an age of political correctness.

"On the one hand, the Department of Homeland Security enjoins us: "If you see something, say something." It's an expensive, focus-grouped official government slogan.

On the other hand, when it's happening in your street, it's all a bit more complicated:

A man who has been working in the area said he noticed a half-dozen Middle Eastern men in the area in recent weeks, but decided not to report anything since he did not wish to racially profile those people.

" 'Middle Eastern men" bringing strange contraptions in and out at all hours of the night? What are you, Islamophobic? Who's to say it's not the local distributor for Ahmed the Clock Boy's amusing new Allahrm Clock? If you see a man of Middle Eastern appearance bearing a ticking object, say something - and get sued for 15 million bucks." . . .

Escalation: Hillary contradicts Benghazi families, denies blaming attacks on video at private meeting

Hot Air Blog Update: New email shows Pentagon offered to deploy rescue forces during attack?
"Before we circle back to Hillary’s statement on ABC News’ This Week, let’s lay some groundwork first. During her sworn testimony before the Benghazi Select Committee in October, Hillary Clinton was confronted with evidence that she had a clear-eyed understanding of the nature of those attacks within hours of their occurrence. On the night of the attack, she sent an email to her daughter lamenting that several American “officers were killed in Benghazi by an Al Queda-like group.” The next morning, she sent the following assessment to a top Egyptian diplomat:"

. . . "Did you tell the families that the attack was about the film?  Answer: No.  My Townhallcolleague Justin Holcomb has addressed her subsequent “fog of war” dissembling, which is belied by the fact that she consistently managed to get it right in private discussions, while peddling a very different tale in public.  But let’s ignore that part of her answer for the moment.  She was asked a direct question: Did she, or did she not, tell those family members that the Internet film was responsible for their loved ones’ deaths?  She says she did not.  This is a direct contradiction of very explicit memories shared on the record by multiple people who have far less incentive to lie than, say, a truth-challenged politician seeking power. " . . . 

. . . "UPDATE – Hmm, didn’t top Obama administration and Pentagon officials testify that there was no viable opportunity to send reinforcements to save our people under siege that night? So what “forces” are being referenced in this just-uncovered email sent from the Defense Department to the State Department during the attack, and why weren’t they deployed?" . . .

Oh, well; Barbara Streisand loves her, so what else matters?

Remembering the 14 Victims of the San Bernardino Terror Attack

Legal Insurrection

"They were a young father of six and the cousin of an NFL player, a passionate defender of Israel who enjoyed debates and a community worker who dressed up as Santa Claus, some 14 victims in all, representing a tapestry of the multicultural American family, all gathered for what seemed the safest of occasions: a holiday party.

"The San Bernardino, Calif. Sheriff’s Department late Thursday released the names of those who died Wednesday night when a heavily armed man and woman burst into the room where they were enjoying a county health department banquet and opened fire. The male gunman, Syed Farook, presumably knew at least some of those he mowed down since he worked for the same department. The New York Post even reported that colleagues there had thrown him a baby shower earlier this year.

"The victims ranged in age from 26-60 and included eight men and six women…."

. . . "For me, one story stood out:

"When a hail of bullets ripped through the air, through their conversation, through their lives — Shannon Johnson didn’t hesitate.

“I’ve got you,” the 45-year-old San Bernardino man calmly told the young co-worker he’d just been chatting with, wrapping his arm around her as they hid behind a chair trying to escape the erupting fusillade." . . .

The American war against the Jews

Caroline Glick

"The foundations of American Jewish life are under assault today in ways that were unimaginable a generation ago. Academia is ground zero of the onslaught. The protest movements on campuses are first and foremost anti-Jewish movements.

"For the past decade or so, years, Jewish communal leaders and activists have focused on just one aspect of this anti-Jewish campaign. Jewish leaders have devoted themselves to helping Jewish students combat the direct anti-Semitism inherent to the anti-Israel student movements.

"Despite the substantial funds that have been devoted to fighting anti-Israel forces on campuses, they have not been diminished. To the contrary, with each passing year they have grown more powerful and menacing.

"Consider a sampling of the anti-Jewish incidents that took place over the past two weeks." . . .

CNN host equates Jewish terror with Islamic terror

. . . "Banfield is unaware or pretending to be unaware that jihadists frequently question the religion of their targets, releasing Muslims and then slaughtering Christians and Jews.  “Are you a Jew?” is understood every day around the world, and particularly in Israel.  An answer in the affirmative will get you killed." . . .

Ben Shapiro: The Myth of the Tiny Radical Muslim Minority

UPDATED: American Silliness 12/9/2015

UPDATE: School cancels ‘Christmas’ after single complaint   

"Parents are sounding off after a West Virginia elementary school opted to ditch its planned Christmas celebrations in the name of political correctness.

"Hollywood Elementary School officials planned to celebrate with the “12 Days of Christmas” leading up to the holiday with fun themes like “elf day” and “Christmas sweater day,” but principal Tamber Hodges told WVNS a single complaint forced them to cancel the celebrations.

. . . 

“Don’t tell me that my son dressing like an elf ‘offends’ you. He’s 4!” she continued. “He still believes in the magic of Christmas. Let him be a kid! You might not agree with me, and that’s okay. But my child WILL be participating, even if he’s the only one. You’ll be able to recognize him…he’ll be the one dressed like an elf. Merry Christmas and God bless!”

Cornell warns students mistletoe isn't 'inclusive' so don't use it  . . . “University members are reminded to be respectful of the religious diversity of our students and colleagues and are encouraged to use an inclusive approach in celebrating the holiday season,” the document says. Students are encouraged to be more “diverse” by either focusing on winter instead of Christmas or by including decorations for multiple holidays alongside secular decorations.

"The university then rattles off a list of decorations that are “NOT consistent” with the school’s “commitment to diversity and inclusiveness.” The discouraged decorations include the following:

-Nativity scenes
-Menorahs
-Angels
-Mistletoe
-Stars (when placed on top of trees)
-Crosses
-Stars of David

"While the religious connotations of nativity scenes or Stars of David is rather obvious, it’s not clear why mistletoe is considered as possibly offensive."

Delusional Demands Week at College Insurrection Here are just three:

• Hamilton College Students Demand Censorship
• Three in Five Professors Call Trigger Warnings a Threat to Academic Freedom
• UCLA Circulates List of “Microaggressions” to Students and Faculty

Black Student Union disrupts classes, blocks cars  "Participating students ran into classrooms shouting the same message and handing out flyers labelled “The Black Students 10-Point Plan” detailing their list of demands for the university to adopt."  Video here

Ole Miss renames Christmas event because it 'connoted too much Christianity'

SJW Student Protesters Jump The Shark: Demand College Change Name Of “Lynch Memorial Hall” Because The Word “Lynch” Reminds Them Of Slavery…

"Student protesters at Lebanon Valley College have managed to encapsulate everything outsiders see as wrong with the current campus “revolution”: privileged students finding outrage in mundane things."

Vocal Critic Of Israel, Jimmy Carter, Has Cancer Cured By Drug Made In Israel

Weasel Zippers

"Oh, the irony.

"Via Free Beacon:

Former president Jimmy Carter, who in the past has been supportive of boycotts against Israel, is having his cancer treated by a “breakthrough” drug created in the Jewish state, according to reports.

Carter, who is being treated for cancer in his liver and brain, said he has been making a recovery since taking a cancer drug known as Keytruda, which was created by Israeli doctors.

Carter has been a vocal critic of Israel.

The drug is believed to be the next generation of treatment for cancer.

Carter has not commented on the fact that this drug was made by Israeli doctors.

Weasel Of The Week Nominees!

Nice Deb

"It’s time once again for the Watcher’s Council’s ‘Weasel Of The Week’ nominations, where we pick our choices to compete for the award of the famed Golden Weasel to a public figure who particularly deserves to be slimed and mocked for his or her dastardly deeds during the week. Every Tuesday morning, tune in for the Weasel of the Week nominations!

"Here are the nominees…

 "Bengahzi Babe, Server Wiping Expert And Foundation Fundraising Ace Hillary Clinton!!

"The Noisy Room : My nomination this week is Hillary Clinton for calling on Silicon Valley to stop ISIS. I kid you not. She’s going for ripping up the Constitution just the way Obama is:" . . .

Obama’s Own Racialist And Islamist Friendly Attorney General, Loretta Lynch!!

"Bookworm Room : My nominee is Loretta Lynch who, in the wake of the San Bernardino terrorist attack, went full dhimmi by announcing that speech that merely edges towards violence will justify full federal prosecution:. . . 

Charlene Storey, New Jersey Councilwoman!

"Maggie’s Notebook : Ms. Storey’s story is not unusual. So many Weasels like her, but the Mayor of the town is unusual. Mayor Hoaknson, a Democrat, isquoted saying “I feel strongly that it is a Christmas tree, and it is a lighting. So therefore, it will be a ‘Christmas tree lighting. Just like the Easter Bunny is the Easter Bunny and not the Holiday Bunny.”

"A man of uncommon sense and good will, he will honor Ms. Storey by saying “Happy Holiday” to her, and “Merry Christmas to everyone else."

Prog-Faschist New York Daily News Columnist Linda Stasi !!

"Nice Deb : New York Daily News columnist, Linda Stasi, has been accurately described as a “foul, disgusting liberal.” One could also argue that she is a particularly repellent weasel.

"The aptly named columnist “blamed of the victim” and engaged in gross moral relativism in her horrific Dec. 6 article asserting “that the interaction between ‘two hate-filled, bigoted municipal employees’ led to the deaths of ’13 innocent people’ who were killed in an act of “unspeakable carnage.”

"The post’s title read: “San Bernardino Killers Were ISIS-Loving Monsters — But One of Their Victims Was Just as Bigoted.' ” . . .

The video of revelers cheering 9/11 that no one got to see

NY Post

Here are the facts, all of which are matters of public record. On the afternoon of Sept. 11, 2001, thousands of jubilant Palestinians took to the streets, chanting “God is great,” firing automatic weapons and handing out sweets to passers-by. The largest demonstration took place in Nablus in the West Bank, where some 3,000 marchers danced and cheered as guerrillas fired assault rifles and grenades into the air.

. . . "Many journalists were on the scene, but they were forcibly detained in a hotel by armed Palestinian security forces to prevent coverage of the rally. One cameraman — a freelance AP reporter — nevertheless managed to film some of the celebration.

"The next day, members of Tanzim, the military arm of Fatah, physically threatened the cameraman and warned AP not to air the material. A cabinet secretary for the Palestinian government told the Associated Press that the government could not “guarantee the life” of the cameraman if the film were broadcast." . . .

"Fourteen years later, the historic footage from 9/11 remains inaccessible to public view.

. . . 

"The suppressed video isn’t simply a historical artifact. The episode contains current lessons for the reliability of reporting from the Middle East, where the propaganda war can be every bit as intense and ruthless as ground combat. And the passionate anti-Western views it puts on vivid display appear to remain in full force." . . .

Commentaries: The President reassures and rallies the nation for the war ahead

Fighting Terror by Self-Reproach  Wall Street Journal;
. . . "This is President Obama’s vision of society, and it is why he delivered this sterile, scolding homily that offered no serious defense against the next jihadist massacre. We have become a country that doesn’t rouse itself to seriousness except when a great many people are murdered. Fourteen deaths apparently isn’t going to move the policy needle, as far as this president is concerned. Will 1,400?"

“We are losing today. This president is not leading.”  . . . "One thing that separates Fiorina from the other Republican candidates is her background in the tech sector. She has some very specific concerns in that area." (Video)

"Leigh Munsil reported at The Blaze:

Carly Fiorina Warns of Threat She Says the U.S. Is ‘Woefully Unprepared’ to Handle: Cyberterrorism  

 Thomas Sowell on The President's Speech  "This was not a speech about how the Obama administration is going to do anything differently in the future. It was a speech about how Obama's policies were right all along. Obama is one of those people who are often wrong but never in doubt."

Krauthammer: Deep Down Obama Thinks War on Terror Was a "Gross Overreach," Overreaction  Elect a faddish, flavor-of-the-month candidate and Obama or Trump are what you get; we should have learned before Trump came along. Who was it that said to trust the wisdom of American voters?

See what this Egyptian commentator has to say about Obama

Irony in the president's Sunday speech . . . "The man's a victim of his own conceit and irony.  He buys into the standard leftist claptrap that if we occupy a foreign land, then ISIS can recruit more easily.  However, Iraq was pacified before he withdrew the troops in 2012.  And now we no longer occupy Iraq, but they have recruited and launch attacks.  How does that make sense?  The only thing that motivates them is an evil religious ideology linked to Islam, because it tells them to sniff out weakness and snuff it out.  ISIS believes that the West and America are weak, so ISIS is on the attack.  Their motive has nothing to do with occupation.  Standard leftism: somehow it's our fault; we need to realize the basis thesis of the left: America the Suckiful." . . .

I Want a President Who Understands the Value of the American Nation  . . . " And if you are not going to unite people around the idea of a nation, what are you going to unite them around?"

CNN Panel Destroys "Out of Touch" Obama Over Failed ISIS Strategy, Refusal to Use Term Islamic Extremism  "Other panelists piled on Democrats as a whole for being all over the map with their response to the attack."

How an Obama news briefing works -- or not

Investors.com

"A revealing exchange Monday during the regular White House media briefing that shows how intentionally unrevealing political communications have become in these last, long lingering months of the Barack Obama administration.

"To the detriment of this Democrat's standing and the long-term corrosion of dialogue in our democratic society.

"Speaking from some personal experience, political press spokesmen have many roles, often tricky, some advisory behind the scenes, some public. Among the public roles:" . . .